A tribute to the distinguished diplomatic historian, Professor Michael Dockrill (1936-2018), this collection provides a comprehensive overview of the field of twentieth-century British foreign and strategic policy. With contributions from the most esteemed academic thinkers in the field, this collection will be of great value to anyone interested in British foreign and defence policy, whether they are a senior academic or an undergraduate researcher. In memory of the late Professor Dockrill, the essays place British foreign policy in a wide range of geographical, thematic and chronological perspectives.

Volume II focuses on British foreign and strategic policy from the fall of France in 1940 to the end of the Cold War in Europe during the 1990s. The emphasis on the Cold War reflects Professor Dockrill’s interests in the later part of his career. The chapters explore British imperial and post-colonial history, as well as the impact of race and religion on British foreign policy duringthe second half of the twentieth century.  British relations with the United Nations are also examined through the formulation of the so-called ‘Special Relationship’. 

Antony Best is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics, UK. His most recent single-authored book is British Intelligence and the Japanese Challenge in Asia, 1914-1941 (Palgrave 2002), and he is one of the co-authors of International History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond, 3^rd edition (2015). 

Gaynor Johnson is Professor Emerita in International History at the University of Kent, UK. Her most recent publications relate to the history and operation of the British Foreign Office and the use of prosopography as a research tool for international historians.  She has also published widely on twentieth-century British foreign policy.  Her most recent book is Politician and Internationalist: Lord Robert Cecil (2013).